How is everyone liking the New Smart Meter Billing with Hydro?

[watergirl73]

We just received our first bill with the smart meter time of use billing. To be honest we try to stick to the scheduling of cheap rates as much as we can but it can get very difficult.

A bulk of our usage was during cheap rate and in the 2 months our bill was still $336.00 for 2 people and dog lol in a 1500sq ft home. In that time period we also hung all our clothes to dry outside.

We just recently last month installed a rain barrell as well so hopefully that will help come next spring and summer.

I can't imagine the pricing if we didn't take much notice to the pricing guide so I thought I would see how others liked the smart meter.

Does anyone have any tips to help bring cost down or what has helped them?

Thanks

[MrsSunshine]

i thought they were not supposed to be put in effect yet.. i know ours aren't yet.. at LEAST til spring.. thats what we were told anyway. as it seemed they were going to cost ppl ALOT more than what was originally expected.

[snow00774]

^ that's what I thought too...Not active yet here.

[watergirl73]

I believe the start times are different but some people are already using the new system. Our first bill came yesterday and honestly I can't even begin to imagine how much more our bill would be if we are not watching what we do.
That being said with the "special" charges lol it ads up more than what we use.
Delivery- 68.66
Regulatory-10.34
Debt Retirement??- $10.19
On Peak- $19.61
Mid-$19.24
Off Peak-$65.83

Total electricity charged $193.87
HST-$25.20
Grand Total $219.07
whereas we actually used $104.68
and paid $114.39 of it HST and 'Special' charges

i thought they were not supposed to be put in effect yet.. i know ours aren't yet.. at LEAST til spring.. thats what we were told anyway. as it seemed they were going to cost ppl ALOT more than what was originally expected.

[kanewtz]

By Smart Meter do you mean Time-of-Use billing?

Like different rates for different times of the day?
Peak
Mid
Off?

[watergirl73]

Yes that is correct.

By Smart Meter do you mean Time-of-Use billing?

Like different rates for different times of the day?
Peak
Mid
Off?

[Draggy]

wow we only avg about $125 every 2 months!

[tjthemanto]

It sucks .

Nothing but a cash grab ..very few people are going to save money with this since their lowest rate from 7 Pm - 7 Am & on Weekends is pretty close to the rate ( before Time of Use ) which is in effect right now 24/7 .

The highest rate is almost double the 24/7 ( before TOU ) rate in effect .

Almost all the people will be paying higher now than before unless you only use hydro from 7 Pm - 7 Am and weekends ..lol ..which is impossible & impractical .

[tjthemanto]

i thought they were not supposed to be put in effect yet.. i know ours aren't yet.. at LEAST til spring.. thats what we were told anyway. as it seemed they were going to cost ppl ALOT more than what was originally expected.

They have already started it in some areas & slowly increasing it to other areas . By Spring 2012 each & every household will have it ..spring is the deadline not the start . In my area they are going to do it by around December .

[sweet sparrow]

Almost all the people will be paying higher now than before unless you only use hydro from 7 Pm - 7 Am and weekends ..lol ..which is impossible & impractical .

We actually do keep those hours because of work (leave before 7 AM, get back after 7:30 PM) so it's not entirely impossible.

I checked against last year's bills and our bills have been lower this year if you compare month-to-month. Winter is coming soon though, which may change things. We have made a few changes (programmable thermostat, weather stripping), but haven't done all that we can yet (timers, unplug electronics).

[Kitty77]

Watergirl. maybe you can save on your hydro by doing the laundry at night and hang to dry on hangers and racks in the house for the winter. Nice to see that Hydro One has changed the time for the expensive hydro to 7pm used to be 9pm. So after 9pm would turn the dishwaser on, and the washing machcine. Turn the heat down a bit before you go to bed. Best of luck!!

[lucy16076]

Those on minimum wage, singles, geared to income, & lower income families suffer enough trying to pay their bills...this change going to be hardest on them. Its not the discipline to use hydro after 7pm, it's the cost to use even the minimal throughout the day at peak rates, on top of all the "special" charges, that will be tough....time to spread around some coupons & donate to the shelters to make it a little easier on those in hardship.

[kanewtz]

Yes that is correct.

I have been on TOU billing for over a year now.

Last bill for the month was $59.77. Not too shabby.

I find I am anywhere between 60-100 a month depending on how much laundry is done/in the summer the A/C.

How someone can have $200+ is beyond me. Perhaps it is time to upgrade applicances to energy efficient ones.

[ame555]

It's been hard this year as I'm home on mat leave and want to do stuff during the day...but when I'm back to work we will be doing most of our stuff off peak.

We never really used our dryer we almost always hang our clothes so that saves some money and we dont' have a dishwasher.

[caroman]

We just started on Nov 1. I don't think the winter's going to be to bad but in the summer I'll need to get a timeer for the pool pump. I stay at home and do everything I can to conserve energy as it is; temp during the day is 20 and 17 at night, twisty lightbulbs throughout the house, turning lights off when not in the room, hanging clothees outside. Now I have to do laundry at night or the weekend, why? This should be in effect for businesses only not for homes.
This is one more neg thing about ON that will go on my list of considerationss when it comes time for us to move. The HST, water prices, gas prices, bagged milk etc.